Chateau De Pray Chf Amboise

... of France after the revolution, but he insisted on being crowned under the King colors rather than the tricolor of the revolution. As a result Napoleon stepped up to the plate and took the prize from under his nose. In more recent history the chateau was used to hide and store much of the Lourve's art work during WWII. <br><br> Words can't describe all that we saw in the Loire Valley so we hope our photos help.<br><br> Goodbye Loire Valley, hello Dordogne here we come!

Awoke to blue skies - yippeee - as it was forecasted for more rain. We set off to Blois chateau first thing. We never really intended to come to Blois but it was part of our multi-entry ticket. Blois is all about the architecture, however the state apartments were ...

Next stop Cheverney. This chateaux had less of a grand opening as it was able to be seen from the road, however the size of the grounds impressed. One would not have guessed what lay inside. We were wowed by Chenonceau but by Chevereny we were blown away. The detail of the rooms were simply overwhelming and at times hard to take it all in...just check out the photos we have uploaded on this page.

... that straddles the River Cher and is surrounded by gardens which even though its late October are still stunning. Inside over 3 floors we take in the places beauty - all of the rooms werer specatuarly painted withj deep blues, green and gold finishes, fine tapestries hang down the ceilings, large oil paintings litter the walls, period furniture gives us an insight into the life of its inhabitants over the years. This chateau wowed us!<br>

... big, delicious macaroon biscuits (but not as good as the ones I heard Laura made for Kim before she left London!!!). Kim went for another wander through the village and found a little cave under the chateau that offered free wine tasting. She tried a sparkling, rose and savingnon from the region. The sparkling won her vote (even though it was not pink!). I on the other hand giving Scooby some more TLC ...

... and 426 rooms. The castle was hardly ever used and many areas were fairly empty all the time. However, some rooms were set up to show what they would have looked like when occupied. The castle had separate areas that would have acted as small apartments for guests and occupants. The whole castle was massive- the staircase was in the middle and there were four large hallways off of it on each of the 3 floors. Steve said he would have made everyone play in ...

... for the wine. It was quite cool to see the fog sitting inside the cave as we walked around. We were also shown into the room with their secret stash of the best wines from the best years. I wondered how much the bottles of 1874 wine would cost. Apparently they are still very good and are re-corked every 20 years. We also tasted several of the more recent wines which were very pleasant indeed. We decided to buy a few bottles to take to England with us to ...

... century by a wealthy family but eventually became a residence of the French royal family. The chateau has undergone multiple extensions through the years as each of its owners has added their own touches. It looks magnificent in all the photos in the books, but was a little disappointing in real life as it was quite dirty and a large part of the main building was covered in scaffolding. You are able to wander through the palace and see some of the ...

... how to aerate, smell and taste a good red wine. Main courses: Jim and Nicole shared the duck surprise (mushrooms and mussels), I had beef and scalloped potatoes-also very yummy. The cheese course was, again, educational and smelly. Goats cheese and new and aged brie were favorites. Dessert-Nicole and I had pears and an unsual pink lechy sorbet with pistachios. Jim had an apple-pear conconction. Each course was served slowly so we had lots of time ...

... vegetable garden, a herb garden, flower gardens, a water garden for meditation, and a maze. That night we camped on an island in the middle of the Loire River with a view of the Amboise chateau. We bought local cheese, bread, wine, fruit and pastries and had a really nice picnic beside the river. Some locals were out fishing with young kids so we enjoyed watching them as well. The next day we ...